“It’s a lot of arms,” Padres manager Bud Black said recently as he scanned the long list of pitchers on the wall of his spring training office. “We’ve got a lot of arms, a lot of games, a lot of opportunities.”

Plus the possibility that general manager Josh Byrnes could still trade for a starting pitcher during spring training.

The lengthy audition for spots in the rotation starts next Friday as the Padres embark on a franchise record, 37-game exhibition season.

Up first will be pitchers not at the top of the list of candidates.

Among the more intriguing names on that list is 25-year-old Tyson Ross, who the Padres acquired from Oakland last Nov. 16 in a trade that sent starting pitcher Andrew Werner and utility infielder Andy Parrino to the A’s.

Ross is a native of Berkeley who went to the University of California and was the second-round pick of the A’s in the 2008 draft. Although the trade uprooted Ross, it reunited him with his younger brother Joe, who was a Padres first-round pick (25th overall) in the 2011 draft.

The trade also gave Tyson Ross, an imposing 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander, a chance to restart his career after three seasons of bouncing between the A’s and Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento with some interesting results.

In 2010, Ross was 2-1 with a 3.55 earned run average in six starts with Sacramento and 1-4 with a 5.49 ERA in 26 games (two starts) with the A’s. The following year, he was 3-3 with a 2.75 ERA in nine games (six starts) with Oakland, but only 3-2 with a 7.61 ERA in nine starts with Sacramento.

Last year, Ross was 6-2 with a 2.99 ERA in 15 games (13 starts) with Sacramento, but struggled to a 2-11 record and a 6.50 ERA in 18 games (13 starts) with the A’s, although he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Padres last June 16.

“There was a lot of back-and-forth in Oakland that I’m hoping is behind me,” Tyson said Friday. “I think my numbers in Sacramento last year show what I can do. When I was in Oakland, I was making some mechanical tweaks and it’s hard to pitch in the major leagues when you are doing that.”

Ross said he is happy to be with the Padres and Darren Balsley. And the Padres pitching coach seems excited about Ross’s potential.

“Look at him, he’s physically gifted,” Balsley said Friday morning. “He has three above average pitches, a fastball slider and a changeup. He has weapons. His arm action has been questioned before, but I think it’s a lot better than advertised.

“I’m excited to have him. My challenge is to get him to trust his stuff. I think he tries to do too much. As bright as he is, he needs to dissect hitters rather than try to overpower them.”

“This is a great opportunity for me to put everything together,” said Ross. “And I’m real excited about working with Balsley. After I got traded to the Padres I talked to Ryan Webb, who pitched for Balsley.

“Ryan said exactly what I’ve seen so far. Balsley has a ton of knowledge and a way of getting it out of his pitchers. When he’s talked about what I’ve done and what I need to do, he’s been spot on.”